How to Heal a Spider Bite with a Potato

I sincerely hope no one is deathly afraid of spiders out there… if so, scroll down quickly!

Late in the day of our second day camping, Mr. Crumbs noticed a spider bite on his leg.

Totally.Not.Surprised.

He must have some sweet-smelling skin or something, because in all the years of his childhood – growing up outdoors in woods and dirt and bugs – he had never been bit by a spider.

Yet upon the few years he’s spent out here in California, he’s been bit three times in three years.

Can you believe it?! We consider him our resident pro when it comes to spider bites.

Each time a brown recluse got him, we tried a few different home grown remedies.

First was a paste of baking soda and water. He applied fresh paste every few hours or so, but over a few days, the bite got worse, the wound got bigger and the muscles in his leg started to seize. He could barely walk after a few days and we ended up seeing a doctor for meds.

The next time involved a garlic paste, applied just like the baking soda treatment. Unfortunately, the end result was the same.

This time around, we ventured into something with substance – a potato.

Dun dun dun…

We figured it couldn’t hurt it, right? Worst case, he goes to the doctor… again.

So he cut off a piece, taped it to his leg and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

And then a couple days later, the bite gradually looked smaller. In fact, the swelling went down and he was walking just fine. No seizing or even a cramp!

Could it be?

Did the potato work?!

We thought it had, but we weren’t sure. You see, about four days after treating the wound there was a dark spot around the bite. It was a toss up between the leg simply being dirty from the potato, or rotten flesh from the bite. To err on the side of caution (and to prevent his leg from falling off… you know, worst case scenario again…), we made a doctor’s appointment.

Want to know what the doctor said?

“Wow, a potato?! Well, I’m gonna have to write that down for future patients because your leg looks fine. I can see where the spider bit you, but it’s nearly healed. Keep it up for a couple more days, just in case. Great job!”

Using raw potato to heal a spider truly worked! Amazing!

Mr. Crumbs graciously reconstructed this how-to since we didn’t take any pictures from the beginning (we honestly didn’t think this would work either, but gave it a shot anyway, lol).

How to Heal a Spider Bite with a Potato

1. Gather supplies and clean the wound. (Potato chips optional.)

2. Using a knife, cut off a large slice from a raw potato. (Ours had a bad spot, but yours can be a “good” potato if you want it to be. It really doesn’t matter.)

3. Using medical tape (or scotch tape, or duct tape… whatever you have on hand that’s strong enough), secure the potato to the bite with the potato flesh on the wound.

4. Repeat every 12 hours or so (once in the morning, once before bed). Warning – you may experience some pain as you remove some body hair along with the tape.

5. Continue this process for one week and pocket your co-pay!

Do you have any successful home remedies to share?

Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals, nor should this post be construed as medical advice. This is simply our personal story of how we healed a spider bite with a potato. If you make a similar attempt on your own, we applaud your efforts to take reign of your health. However, we are not suitable for consultation nor advice should this method not work for you. Please read my full disclaimer here.

my four year old walked up next to me just as i was scrolling through your post and he actually jumped back a little when he spotted those spiders! i’ve heard of using a potato on a mild burn, so guess potatoes have a lot of uses. thanks for sharing, added this to my “emergency preparedness” board on pinterest just in case…

Sorry, off topic from spider bites, but I just had to say..If you get a burn, don’t use a potato, try egg whites! Oh my goodness, I’ve tried all kinds of burn remedies and egg whites are the only thing to work miracles. I probably wouldn’t use them on any open-wound burns, but I’ve used them on myself for all of my burns mild and more severe. It may take a few eggs, but it removes all pain and even stops blistering and scarring. You can either soak in egg whites or put egg whites on a cloth and apply to the burn. I now only use egg whites for burns–raw egg whites (not cooked), hopefully nice and cold from the fridge which gives an added cooling sensation. Most burns I’ve had stop hurting completely after 15-20 minutes. If the burn is more severe it might take a little longer. I swear by them and tell everyone I know!

Ugh!
I hated seeing spiders in my e-mail.
But- we do have brown recluse spiders. We’ve had the exterminator come and they still show up now and then.

I’m glad to know about the potato.

What we’ve used is Redmond’s clay from the health food store. It’s a gray powder that you mix with a little water to make a paste. Put it on the bite, cover it with a band-aid, and repeat daily until it heals. So far, we haven’t had to see a doctor.

Another burn idea – thank you! I don’t think I can recommend experimenting with spiders Dolly, lol, but I won’t say anything if you wanted to go for a random hike with a potato and a knife if your back pocket!

Oh! I wrote that vinegar *and* honey is good for bee stings–I meant to delete the ‘honey’. We only use apple cider vinegar–usually we’ll soak a washcloth in the vinegar, put some ice inside the cloth, and put it on the sting. The relief is amazing! 😀

came here from butter believer, nice share! i was just on beach vaca and got my first jellyfish sting, it HURT bad, right on my inner thigh so every time i took a step, friction! i know kefir and honey are both good for healing the skin, and as i was fresh out of meat tenderizer in my beach bag, i did have lassi (honey/kefir) in the cooler as a refreshing beverage. i applied it on my leg 3 times and after 4 hours it didn’t hurt anymore. i love kefir. and honey. raw cider vinegar would have worked too, as both vinegar and kefir are both scoby ferments, they have the same healing properties. i guess i should photography my wound and write a post about it!

I am going to have to give it a try! I live in Cali. too and the d**n spiders bite me at night while I sleep. Happens at least once a week. We’ve sprayed the perimeter of the house but don’t want to spray the interior.

I’m a big believer in the Aloe Vera plant & I have them everywhere. Supposedly, the larger, older leaves have the most potent juice, but they’re all good. Especially good for mosquito bites. We, as people, just need to figure out that everything we need for healing is right here on this earth that God gave us. We just have to find it, right?

Ice is my other *go-to*. Sometimes I use both ice & aloe vera. It never fails to work on burns, bites, scratches, shallow cuts, and more. I haven’t used triple antibiotic cream in years.

That said, I was bitten by a wolf spider a couple of years ago. Not only did it bruise my entire forearm, there was also a huge white *knot* (or bump) in the center. Fearing that I’d been bitten by a Brown Recluse, I ordered a kit from a web site that sells kits to effectively eliminate the necrosis of a BR bite. It consists mainly of activated charcoal that you add a couple of drops of water to, to make a paste. You apply that, wrap it in plastic wrap, then wrap in an Ace bandage, and change twice a day. It took like 5 weeks to disappear & I never had any necrosis. Here’s the link to that post on my other blog:

Yes, we do need to find it. And coming along YEARS after so many people have pushed it aside makes our job a bit more difficult. I think someone else mentioned activated charcoal too. I love having all these holistic and non-medicinal options! Thanks!

I am so happy to find these remedies! I was raised on natural medicine and cannot take drugs. I am allergic to spider bites and get them nightly, as many as 15-20 bites (they also leave scars). The major problem is anaphylaxis. I have found using honey daily builds the immune system, and homeopathic tissue salts and Vodka (yuck) help ride out the shock. Also keep regular toothpaste (not whitening!) with me at all times, apply topically, it draws out the poison.

I was bit by a brown recluse spider. I was bit on my elbow and the spot of the bite was very red and my whole arm swelled up. I took the what looked infected spot ofe bite and put a Alice of raw potato on the bite and after a few minutes would sqeeze the venom out. This worked. I went to the doctor anyways because the bite being right over my bone. But using a potato on a spider bite, I know the starch will drawl out the poisin.

I have heard that if you get a splinter or any type of wood into your skin that you couldn’t get out, putting a potato over the spot would draw that piece of wood out. I didn’t know it helped with spider bites. So when I got a spider bite yesterday, I saw this post and am putting a potato on it now. Thanks!

We have funnel webs and red back spiders in Australia. Highly poisonous. I would recommend going to a doctor or hospital immediately. Please don’t use potatoes, or toothpaste on these bites, you will die in a couple of hours. Wilma

Just so everyone knows if you have a bad complexion or anything egg whites will clean your skin!!!
I don’t know why but when I had pimples my mom put an egg to my face and within a few minutes I could see the dirt and other gross stuff on the white!! It works for spider bites too

Very interesting article. I found your blog while searching for mole removal with ACV – great results you had, and I hope to have also! I then saw your blog on brown recluse spider bites and noticed you live in California, where you received these bites, it would appear. I live in TN where I’ve KILLED over 45 (if I sees ’em, I kills ’em) of them (the most of any spider I’ve ever killed. I don’t mind spiders in general, in fact I leave all but the toxic ones alone, but I won’t tolerate the BR (as fascinating as they are) since they can pack a walloping bite even if they don’t typically inject all their toxin when pressed to do so). I said all of that to say, I’ve done quite a bit of research on the little buggers (again, fascinating as far as spiders go, but I’m a bit of a nerd) as I’ve killed my fair share of them (TN is endemic with them) but have NEVER been bit. I’ve seen them in every home I’ve ever been in (from brand new 16,000 sq ft mansions to tiny lake cabins) and yet know of only two people who’ve been bit, and at that after blindly reaching into a cardboard box that had been in garage storage for awhile. We know better to do this (and in CA you do too for concern of Black Widow spiders). And those who were bit were fine – no skin melting away, etc. Here is an interesting article you might wish to read in regard to Brown Recluse being in California. http://spiders.ucr.edu/myth.html I used to live in CA, never saw a BR, though did see plenty of Black Widow spiders. Here in Tennessee we feel about BR’s as you do about BW’s = be alert but not surprised or afraid of them. The reason I am posting this comment is because of what IS (or rather seems to be) endemic in CA and that is Staph or MRSA. It can look rather like a spider (BR) bite. My brother now lives in CA, grew up in TN – never was bit by a BR (and he had every opportunity – being all boy, working in the yard, working in the garage, etc) but has had MRSA four times already in a short order. I would imagine you could try the garlic and potato remedy on MRSA and it would hopefully work, but knowing the difference between a spider bite and MRSA is important also, I think, and thus the reason for my comment. To your health!

I must thank you not only for your knowledge, but for taking the time to type it all out for us! Thank you for making us aware of MRSA and how it could resemble a spider bite!

As for your spider killings – dude. You need some notches in a belt or something girl!

Funny you mention the cardboard box in a garage issue…. I had always wondered why he was bit and none of the rest of us were. We figured it was his wetsuit, but it could have been that he was the only one who went into a small storage closet in our carport at the time. I believe that’s also where he hung his wetsuit… I’ll have to be sure to point this out to my husband. 😉

Thanks again Kate! Best of luck on your mole removal AND keep staying away from those spiders! ~Tiffany

As child, I noticed how a bag of potatoes left out to long would draw bugs to it. So I figured there was some healing agent in it. I don’t why but I did. So one day I got a huge bump on my arm, I taped a piece of potatoe on it over night, when I woke up, the potatoe had drawn out the poison and my arm was better.

a lady mentioned using preparation H on the bite. I put it on my husbands bite on his back shoulder and it’s the 3rd day. When I changed the bandage this morning, the swelling was gone and the redness has shrank and lightened. Puss has been coming out also. It’s looking better. Tonight, there was a couple small puss areas but nothing bad. I put a needle in them to drain any poison out and reapplied more prep h. Looks like it’s working!!

Happy to hear the spider bite is looking better Ben! I don’t know if elevating would make much difference. Mr. Crumbs had his leg elevated when he was laying down, but most of the time he was sitting or walking… so it’s hard to know if it really mattered in the end.

This happened to be the 4th time I was bitten by a brown recluse, so I was familiar with the symptoms, and the amount of time it took before scar tissue developed from the poison/venom. In other words, it was a calculated risk

If you’ve been bitten by a spider, you should seek medical attention and not put yourself at risk. Especially if you are unsure what bit you.

make a wet poltice out of the weed…plantain!!!! for all types of bites and stings…Especially…brs bites!!!..or if in the wilds (outdoors) grab a couple leaves…chew…leave sloppy…hold on bite immediately…for ~ 15 minutes…repeat if necessary….works miracles.

Tiffany, Thank you for posting your remedy about the potato. I got bite by a spider 4 weeks ago, went to the Hospital the Doctor recommended to apply antibiotic ontiment I tryed it for 2 weeks it got a little bit better. Two weeks after that I wrapped aloe vera on it and it got smaller “but it still itched” I ran across your website cut a small wedge of potato and wrapped with the medical tape. The second day it drew out a small sharp fang, its making the bruise look better!! “Thanks for your advice, and may God bless you and Mr. Crumbs” I am saving the fang to show my family and friends.

Hi. Are you sure that bite was from a recluse? There are many variations of recluse w/ various levels of toxin, and other types who have some venom but not dangerous to us–referring to those which usually leave a red itchy area, similar to a mosquito. Could it have been one of these other spiders? Many spiders can carry staff, so a non-recluse bite could deceivingly “seem” like that of a recluse.

Yep, we’re sure. They’re everywhere out here, and at the time, they were all throughout the shed where my husband kept his wetsuit (which is why HE got bit, but not us). We diagnosed the bite from the spider itself.

Tiffany, this post was how I found your blog this past spring. I had been bit by something 7x on my back when I woke up one morning, Seemed like other spider bites I’d had in past, so presumed it was the same. however, I didn’t find your blog and try to the potato until 4-5 days later. The itching was terrible, and I had scratched. Everywhere I scratched, the redness had spread b-c I believe the poison had spread. The heat coming off that area was quite something, not to mention the inflammation. I was also 5 months pregnant at the time and so had my OB check it out on a scheduled check up exactly one week after I woke up w/ said bites. I had no symptoms of being ill, only skin-surface symptoms or I would have consulted a Dr. sooner. Sorry to say, the potato did NOT work, I believe, b-c I didn’t know about it and apply it in the first 24 hours to draw out the poison. The poison had so spread around b-c I scratched and the openings had healed over. I would try it that way next time, though I hope there isn’t one. What did the Dr. say? Well, they were actually quite alarmed at the sight of my skin (email me if you want to see photos) and prescribed me a cortizone anti-itch cream (which I had in my bathroom and used a few times) and a medication for shingles b-c she suspected that, though I told her it was only surface irritation. I decided not to fill the prescription, but to consult my Aromatherapy Instructor and try that, if there was no improvement in 1-2 days, I would fill the prescriptions. What REALLY helped get the inflammation down was straight Lavender Augustifolia and Roman Chamomile essentail oils (per Cynthia Loving at lovingscents.com) applied on my affected skin every 6 hours for 2 days, then dropped to every 12 hours, then 1xday, 1 week later, it was nearly gone. I Hope this helps other readers!

Thanks so much for sharing your story Ginger! I think one of the reasons this method worked so well for us is because we caught it early on. My husband was bit on a Friday, and we tried this method that night. At least you were able to find other forms of natural relief through essential oils – what a blessing, and I’m glad it all worked out for the best!

I have had a spider bite on my face just under my eye since last Nov i paid for a private clinic and had to go every day for 3 weeks to clear the infection and dressings etc it spread about 1 inch long 1 of the holes healed but the other 1 keeps flairing up, went again to see a specialist 3 months ago an he said keep putting water on it.was not helping at all so i Google an found your site an others saying about potatoes can help so i tried it an all i can say is thank u so much it looks so much better already in 3 days the redness has decreased and the scar looks like it is closing together more it’s the best it’s ever looked in 8 months of expensive treatment that made very little difference and a simple potato has worked already.i will keep putting it on until the hole heals fingers crossed can’t thank u enough It works

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